


Reflected Warmth

by Frozenleaf



Series: Gladmoon Day 2019 [4]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: F/M, I have no idea what I'm doing, gladmoonday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-25
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-12-07 15:25:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18236732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frozenleaf/pseuds/Frozenleaf
Summary: She looks like a mirror, detached from reality, moving through life with a cold dispassion. He doesn't expect to be there when the mirror cracks.





	Reflected Warmth

There is something off in Moon's smile.

Gladion notices it the first time they meet. It's warm, friendly... but it doesn't touch her eyes, watching him with cool dispassion. Cold, calculating... it reminds him of his mother, how Lusamine's words are shaped like sweet praise, but filled with poison.

He doesn't trust her at all.

Yet, she's strong- quick-witted on the battlefield, sharp-eyed and  _dangerous._ There's a cold flame burning in those slate gray eyes, and every time he faces her, Gladion feels a chill down his back. And when she smiles at him- even more so. She's like a doll, without passion, her eyes glassy and cold. When he looks at her, he feels as if he's staring into a void. The Moon, after all, merely reflects the sun's warmth, never generating any of its own.

He hates it when he has to rely on her for help. Hates it when he stands back-to-back with her in battle, feeling vulnerable and just waiting for her to plunge a metaphorical dagger in his back. Yet, despite how he distrusts her, she never once does anything untoward. Never once reveals who she is, truly.

He relies on her begrudgingly to save his mother, to protect Lillie. Accepts, after a while, that even though he can never tell what lies beyond her cold eyes, there's something within her that will always take care of his sister, that will never hurt him without reason. Something in her that, though he never glimpses, is still attached to this world.

So he tolerates Moon's presence, though he means it when he says they aren't friends. He doesn't flinch when he finds her writing to Lillie, doesn't say a word when she asks to take his picture to send to his sister. Tries to control his annoyance every time he finds her lurking around with that fake, beautiful smile on her face, that calculating look in her eyes.

When the International Police ask for her assistance in capturing Ultra Beasts, it becomes normal for him to glimpse her at Aether's lower levels, searching out information or talking to Wicke. He doesn't like that she flits through  _his_ place so easily, but when she regards him with that coy smile, he finds his words still, and irritation nibble at the edge of his thoughts.

So he doesn't expect it, late one night, when he finds her curled up in a corner of the lab, knees pulled up to her face and arms wrapped tight around her tiny shaking frame. Glimpses raw shock and  _fear_ in those gray eyes when she looks up to him, and for once, she isn't the doll he's come to expect.

"Gladion."

Her voice is a shaky whisper, nothing like the calm, confident facade he's come to know. And her eyes, once so cold and glassy, shine bright with a multitude of emotions.

He stills. He isn't sure what's the appropriate response to finding his rival crying her heart out in his lab. She seems uninjured, but as he steps closer, he realizes she's trembling.

She pulls back at his approach. Dashes a hand across her eyes. Presses a hand against the wall as she totters to a stand.

"Sorry," she mutters. She doesn't meet his eyes, and there's still a slight tremble to her shoulder. Without another word, she makes to move past him-

And then his hand reaches out and grabs her own. Fire flashes in her eyes as she turns her chin up towards him, but this close, he can see the trails of her tears on her pale skin, the shadows underneath her eyes. And her hand... it feels as if touched by death.

He swallows. "Are you okay?" he whispers, not trusting his voice to hide his surprise.

"Fine." Her abrupt answer is nothing like the sing-song whimsies she usually partakes in, and though he's heard her half-truths time and time again, this time it's different.

"You're lying."

She glares at him again. But then the flames of her protest sputter out, and she turns away. "What does it matter to you?"

It doesn't. It  _shouldn't._ But the shock he feels has yet to subside, and there's no way he's going to back down now. "You're crying in my lab, if I must remind you," he pointed out.

" _Was_ crying. Past tense." She squeezes her eyes shut. "You don't have to baby me, Gladion. Unless you enjoy watching me cry."

There is a venom in her voice that stops him cold in his tracks. There's a flash of his mother- of cruel words and cold eyes. He stiffens. "Is that what you think of me?"

Her eyes widen, and she swallows. It is answer enough. Rage bubbles in his breast, but he turns away. Turns around, about to leave-

"No it's not."

Tentatively, slight fingers grasp at his hand. When he looks back at her, her head is bowed and she's quiet. Far more subdued than he'd ever seen her.

"I'm sorry," she whispers. "I just..." She shudders, and beneath her bangs, he sees water glistening at the corners of her eyes. She pauses, indecision in her step. She bites her lip, clenches her fist. Then, abruptly, her resistance stills and her shoulders sag. Her gray eyes glance away, afraid to meet his own.

In a quiet, quivering voice, she admits, "I'm scared."

There is no vindication, no joy that Moon's mirage has been dispelled. A sharp chill settles over him at the sight, a quiet urging in his chest that makes him move. Maybe it's the softness in her voice, the shame in her posture. Whatever the case, he pulls her close. With a shaking sob, she rests her cheek against his chest, her hands clutching against his jacket.

He lets her cry, holds her as her shoulders shake with sobs and her body trembles with fear. It's as if a dam has been opened, and he sits with her until finally she calms, though she doesn't disentangle herself from his embrace.

When he thinks its safe enough, he asks, "What happened?"

A shuddering breath. A deep sigh. A tight squeeze around his torso.

"The Ultra Beasts," she finally admits. "Being the Champion. Having to do all these dangerous things, again, and again, and again-" She shudders. "It never ends."

"You've never faltered before," he murmurs.

"I can't," she answers. There is a quaver in her voice as she laughs. "I've wanted to, but... I have to stay strong. So that Lillie can smile, and Hau can be happy, and even you- even though you don't like me, I want... I want you to be safe." She pauses, breathes. "People are depending on me, and I can't let them down."

He swallows. "Is that so?"

She nods, and he realizes, as she buries deeper into his chest, how he's only ever seen her fly. How her smiles and cold eyes are the only way she can retain her sanity, in the full weight of the burden expected of her. How she reflects the light, to hide how desperately she's afraid.

He knows what it's like. Knows how lonely it can be, to face the world alone. Didn't expect that Moon was going through the same thing as he once did.

Gladion is not good at comforting. But slowly, he brushes a hand through her hair, patting her head in a gesture he remembers when his mother comforted him, and age ago. Slowly, her breathing eases, and her shoulders relax. Her body is warm against him. Tangible. Not an illusion.

"You're not alone," he says at last. "You taught me that. You have to rely on your pokemon. On others. Even... me, even if you don't trust me."

Slowly, she tilts her head upwards. Her cheeks are still wet, and her eyes are red from crying. But she no longer looks like a doll, an image carefully curated to project confidence and strength.

She looks... just like he once did. But not quite so broken, not quite so sad any longer. She leans against him, a soft sigh echoing in his ears. "I do trust you," she murmurs. She sniffles. "I wouldn't... be crying in your arms, otherwise."

A soft chuckle escapes his lips. "As honored as I am, let's not make it a habit."

"Yeah?" She pauses. "Then what else would you suggest?"

"Talk to me when you need... someone to talk to," he says. "I'll be here for you. Always, like you were there for everyone else."

Moon glances up at him. Her trembles have subsided, and though her gray eyes are watchful and calculating, the warmth in them isn't reflected off an illusion.

And for once, her smile is real.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in one hour after drinking alcohol because I am going full on winging it with writing these things now. Done for Gladmoon Week, Day 4: Lotus (Detachment)!


End file.
